Florence brought me welcome rest and some time to keep in the shade of it's many beautiful buildings. I stayed 3 nights in a small room before catching a train to Ancona, on the east coast of Italy. I was on my way to Croatia. Stayed in Ancona for 1 night in a room overlooking the train station and caught the ferry across to Split the following morning. 9 hours later I was in Croatia trying to find a bed in one of it's busiest cities in summer, Split. Aussies galore in Split, I was wondering if it may have been Europe's answer to Bali. Even saw a bloke wearing an Essendon football jumper. Hmmm. Finally found a campsite outside of Split at 11pm with fellow cyclist Ebru from Turkey. Caught a 3 hour ferry the next day to the island Korcula, where I had 5 wonderful days with great friends Chris, Jo, Sam and Nadia. It was hot so spent most of the time in the cool water near our apartment, a short walk from the village. The time in Korcula flew past and I found myself back on the ferry to Ancona and then back on the train to Florence, where I had left my bike.
Jumped on the bike and headed into the hills of Tuscany from Florence in 35 degree heat at 2pm. Not the smartest move, as I found myself very exhausted riding around the hills trying to find a place to sleep at 7pm. Found a room eventually and then camped the following 2 nights in Chianti country. Rode onto Radda in Chianti where I stayed 2 more nights, in the heart of Tuscany and the best wine growing region in the country, probably. Chianti Classico flowed and I slept well. The riding through Tuscany was very difficult. The hills were relentless and always seemed to be going up, not down. The views were magnificent though, lots of olive trees, vineyards, forests. I needed to find work on a farm though, this heat was not good for cycling. Still barely seen a drop of rain in Italy or France all summer.
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